Ad of the Day: Dell

Y&R dreams up an alternate universe in its latest spot for the computer maker

This Dell spot from Young & Rubicam in New York is barely a Dell spot, but that's sort of what makes it work as entertainment, if not particularly as advertisement.

It's the latest in the "Power to Do More" series, which previously brought us Annie, the girl who could fly. In the new spot, we meet Thomas, "creator of an alternate universe." Directed by Bjoern Ruehmann, it's a lot of fun to look at (there are behind-the-scenes shorts for those suitably enchanted by the CGI characters)—especially the nervous rabbit, whose only pleasure in life seems to be the acquisition of a second ear, courtesy of Thomas Wilks, our budding-graphic-novelist protagonist.

Ruehmann's spot does pack a lot into a few seconds: There's the humdrum eye-flirting between Thomas and the beautiful woman down the row, whom he's clearly using as fodder for the fowl fatale character in his noirish story. The frog is a lot of fun, too. But the cricket-jockey mice are definitely the highlight, as far as I'm concerned. (By the way, people enchanted by Wilks's premise should know that the hardboiled-Wind-in-the-Willows thing has already been done quite well by graphic novelist Bryan Talbot in his series Grandville.)

The special effects here are a very convincing blend of practical and CG. The bird's feathered hand is a really beautiful piece of costuming, and the rabbit's whole getup is pretty seamless.

But ultimately, the ad doesn't really convince me that the Dell in question can do anything really notable or different. The spot is meant to celebrate the way Dell technology helps enable interests that people pursue outside of their work life. But with all story and not much product, it has trouble making its own case.

Maybe that's a sign of the times—computers now being no more or less preferable among brands than diet sodas—even if the tech industry is so invested in telling us otherwise.